Buckley has had more of an impact on the political life of this country — and a better one — than some of our presidents. He created modern conservatism as an intellectual and then a political movement. He kept it from drifting into the fever swamps. And he gave it a wit, style, and intelligence that earned the respect and friendship even of his adversaries. (To know Buckley was to be reminded that certain people have a talent for friendship.)

He inspired and incited three generations of conservatives, and counting. He retained his intellectual and literary vitality to the end; even in his final years he was capable of the arresting formulation, the unpredictable insight.

It has been said that great men are rarely good men. Even more rarely are they sweet and merry, as Buckley was.

President Ronald Reagan called Buckley "the most influential journalist and intellectual of our era." The National Review, Reagan said, "is to the West Wing of the White House what People magazine is to your dentist's office."

Buckley was a serious student of the English language and was widely known for his large, polysyllabic vocabulary. A stickler for proper punctuation, he hated unnecessary exclamation points and commas. He loved sailing, skiing and playing the harpsichord. He made four transoceanic sailing voyages and had been to the South Pole.

At National Review, Buckley became known as a discoverer of talented conservative writers, including syndicated columnist George F. Will and New York Times columnist David Brooks. Cultural critics Garry Wills and Joan Didion also wrote for the magazine in its early years.

He was the model of the modern American intellectual.

From the first to the last, however, he had an intellectually transcendent purpose from which he never deviated: The explication of, defense of, and advancement of, traditional mores and traditional beliefs, and a concomitant commitment to the notion that social experiments are very dangerous things indeed. He was, ever and always, a serious man in an increasingly unserious time.

And let’s not forget how he intersected with and changed history, usually behind the scenes, which is how he wanted it. The young Yalie persuaded Whittaker Chambers to serve for a time as an original senior editor of NR. His dear friend and publisher, William A. Rusher, formed the Draft Goldwater Movement of 1964. NR was Ronald Reagan’s political Bible. Bill introduced Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon. I could go on. Suffice it to say that our country is a better and stronger Republic because of the efforts of a man born to wealth, who never had to do an honest day’s work in his life, but who worked like a Stakhanovite (forgive me, Bill) for the things he believed in -- the “permanent things,” “the tokens of hope and truth.”

As one of the founders of the modern conservative movement, William Buckley helped turn the intellectual and political tide, shifting America from liberalism to conservatism. Our country, and our world, are better for his 82 years on this earth...

So all conservatives owe Bill Buckley a great debt. Today, while our thoughts and prayers are with the Buckley family, we conservatives continue to draw inspiration from his life and work. But there is more to be done. It is up to us to carry on, fulfilling his enormous legacy.